Tarquinio Provini
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Tarquinio Provini (born May 29, 1933 in Roveleto di Cadeo ( PC ), † January 6, 2005 in Bologna ) was an Italian motorcycle racer and entrepreneur . In his career he was able to win two world titles in the motorcycle world championship , four victories at the Isle of Man TT and eleven Italian championships .
Racing career
Tarquinio Provini was born the son of a motorcycle dealer who nurtured his son's passion for motorcycles from an early age. He started riding motorcycles at the age of ten, in 1949, and at the age of 16 he contested his first race. Since he was still too young for a license at the time, he competed with his uncle's and won the regional championship. His father later gave him a place on an FB Mondial machine, with which he contested the Italian championship and prevailed there against the then extremely strong competition.
In the 1954 season , Tarquinio Provini finally made his debut on Mondial in the 125 cm³ class of the motorcycle world championship . In his first race, the Grand Prix of Nations in Monza , he was able to take second place immediately. He even won his second race, the Spanish Grand Prix . In the years 1955 and 1956 season Provini only appeared in a few world championship races, instead he focused on the national championship, in which he was able to win four titles between 1955 and 1957.
The 1957 season was the most successful of Provini's career. In addition to the titles in the classes up to 125 cm³ and up to 250 cm³ of the Italian championship, he was also able to win the 125 cm³ World Championship. With three wins and two second places from five contested races, he won the title by superiority ahead of MV Agusta pilot Luigi Taveri from Switzerland .
After Mondial withdrew from the World Cup for financial reasons at the end of the 1957 season, Provini had to look for a new employer and decided on the offer from MV Agusta. Since the Italian manufacturer dominated at the time and had the best drivers in the world under contract, Provini had to prove itself there first. With the world championship title in the 250 cm³ class in 1958 , he succeeded immediately. With four victories in just as many races, he secured the title superior to Horst Fügner from the GDR , who started for MZ .
In the 1959 season, however, he was only runner-up behind teammate Carlo Ubbiali in both the 125 and 250 classes . The public rivalry between the two ultimately led Provini to decide at the end of the season to switch to Morini , for whom he competed in the 250 cc class. The 1960 season was dominated by MV drivers Carlo Ubbiali and Gary Hocking . Provini came third in the Tourist Trophy. Later, at the Belgian Grand Prix in Spa-Francorchamps , he had a bad crash and ended the season only in ninth place overall.
1961 had Tarquinio Provini with the exceedingly powerful Honda - Four cylinders to do that eventually filled the top five places in the World Cup and with Mike Hailwood presented the superior world champion. Provini was sixth in the World Championship and therefore the best non-Honda driver. The Honda Phalanx also dominated the 250cc class in 1962 and again became the world champion in Jim Redman . For Provini on his single-cylinder Morini, fifth place was again just a disappointing result.
In the season 1963 Tarquinio Provini started with victories in Spain and the Grand Prix of West Germany at the Hockenheimring . After two more victories in the course of the season, he was only two points behind Jim Redman vice world champion. For the 1964 season, Provini switched to Benelli , who used a four-cylinder engine, believing that the Honda four-cylinder could no longer be beaten with a single-cylinder. After a good start to the season with a win in Spain, the season was only mediocre for Provini. At the top there was a fight between Redman on Honda and the Yamaha rider Phil Read , who eventually won the title. Tarquinio Provini could not intervene in the title decision with his fifth place.
In the 1965 season , Provini clinched his last victory in the motorcycle world championship at the 250cc Grand Prix of Nations in Monza. Nevertheless, it was only enough for seventh place in the overall classification.
Also in 1966 Tarquinio Provini competed with Benelli. The 250 cc racing machine was equipped with an air-cooled four-cylinder with a displacement of 247 cc and a seven-speed gearbox. The engine with four Dell'Orto - carburetors made 55 hp (40 kW) at 15,000 / min. With an empty weight of 116 kg (with oil, without gasoline) this racing machine reached a top speed of 240 km / h. In a terrible fall while training for the Tourist Trophy (blinded by the sun), he suffered such serious injuries to his spine that the treating doctors promised him that he would remain paraplegic for his life , which turned out to be a mistake. Nevertheless, this accident forced Provini to end his active career, in which he contested 50 grands prix and achieved 20 wins and 39 podiums.
Career as an entrepreneur
After his active career, Tarquinio Provini had the idea of making miniature models of the motorcycles with which he and his opponents had fought for victories and world titles for years. He founded the Protar company in Bologna , which he managed for years.
Tarquinio Provini died on 6 January 2005, at the age of 71 years, in Bologna a cancer .
statistics
title
- 1955 - Italian 125 cc champion on FB Mondial
- 1956 - Italian 175 cm³ champion on FB Mondial
- 1957 - 125 cm³ world champion on FB Mondial
- 1957 - Italian 125cc champion on FB Mondial
- 1957 - Italian 250 cc champion on FB Mondial
- 1958 - 250 cc world champion on MV Agusta
- 1958 - Italian 250 cc champion on FB Mondial
- 1959 - Italian 250cc champion on MV Agusta
- 1961 - Italian 250cc champion on Morini
- 1962 - Italian 250cc champion on Morini
- 1963 - Italian 250cc champion on Morini
- 1965 - Italian 250cc champion on Benelli
- 1966 - Italian 250cc champion on Benelli
- 20 Grand Prix victories
Isle of Man TT victories
| year | class | machine | Average speed |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1957 | Ultra-Lightweight (125 cm³) | FB Mondial | 73.69 mph (118.59 km / h ) |
| 1958 | Lightweight (250 cm³) | MV Agusta | 76.89 mph (123.74 km / h) |
| 1959 | Ultra-Lightweight (125 cm³) | MV Agusta | 74.06 mph (119.19 km / h) |
| Lightweight (250 cm³) | MV Agusta | 77.77 mph (125.16 km / h) |
In the motorcycle world championship
| season | class | Result | machine | Victories |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1954 | 125 cc | 4th | FB Mondial | 1 |
| 1955 | 125 cc | 9. | FB Mondial | 0 |
| 1956 | 125 cc | 4th | FB Mondial | 0 |
| 1957 | 125 cc | World Champion | FB Mondial | 3 |
| 250 cc | 2. | FB Mondial | 2 | |
| 1958 | 125 cc | 4th | MV Agusta | 0 |
| 250 cc | World Champion | MV Agusta | 4th | |
| 1959 | 125 cc | 2. | MV Agusta | 2 |
| 250 cc | 2. | MV Agusta | 2 | |
| 1960 | 250 cc | 9. | Morini | 0 |
| 1961 | 250 cc | 6th | Morini | 0 |
| 1962 | 250 cc | 5. | Morini | 0 |
| 1963 | 250 cc | 2. | Morini | 4th |
| 1964 | 50 cc | 13. | Kreidler | 0 |
| 250 cc | 5. | Benelli | 1 | |
| 1965 | 250 cc | 7th | Benelli | 1 |
| 350 cc | 13. | Benelli | 0 | |
| 1966 | 350 cc | 11. | Benelli | 0 |
Web links
- Tarquinio Provini on the official website of the motorcycle world championship (English).
- Tarquinio Provini on the Isle of Man TT official website.
- Tarquinio Provini. www.motorsportmemorial.org, accessed on April 3, 2013 (English).
- Article about Tarquinio Provini , www.classic-motorrad.de
- "Addio a Provini, due volte iridato" , www.gazzetta.it (Italian)
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Provini, Tarquinio |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Italian motorcycle racer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | May 29, 1933 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Roveleto di Cadeo |
| DATE OF DEATH | January 6, 2005 |
| Place of death | Bologna |